Tanzania Fact File

Getting there

For Southern Tanzania you fly nine hours direct from London to Dar es Salaam, then it’s a 50 minute hop and you’re deep in the wilds of the Selous.  For Northern Tanzania you fly via Dar or Nairobi connecting with a one hour flight.  KLM fly to both Dar and Kilimanjaro from a number of UK airports via Amsterdam making it a good choice for those wanting to avoid Heathrow.

Seasons

The main rains in Tanzania fall in April and May, and the immense wildebeest migration is expected in the Serengeti between November and June (the rest of the year it is in Kenya’s Masai Mara).  Going on safari in the rainy season has its advantages – fresh grassland, wild flowers, few tourists and it doesn’t necessarily rain much, though you should avoid Zanzibar and the coast in April May and perhaps November.

Is Tanzania right for you?

If you love Africa you simply have to visit Tanzania at some point!  Scenically and for wildlife everything is on a huge scale, from the 10 mile wide Ngorongoro Crater to a million wildebeest roaming the Serengeti, to Mount Kilimanjaro and the vast unexplored interiors of Ruaha and the Mahale Mountains.  You can visit all of these areas flying in small planes, or in Northern Tanzania you can do it by road in your own private vehicle which gives you a chance to see the country at ground level and to build a relationship with your private guide over an extended period of time.  This way of doing it could be especially good for a family holiday.

The South (Selous/Ruaha/Katavi) is much wilder and more remote and ideal if you are seeking a real adventure, boating, walking, taking open vehicle day and night drives, encountering virtually no-one else – just the unspoilt wilderness of Central Africa.

Combining Tanzania

As Tanzania has a coastline it is easy to combine your safari with a lazy beach holiday on Zanzibar, or world class diving on Mafia Island.   You can also easily reach some of the more remote Mozambican “desert islands”.